48 On My Body, Search for It Yourself
Su Ying’s eyes and ears were sharp, and she heard the two children’s voices from afar. Her eyes swept over the crowd and she found them immediately. She pulled back the reins and galloped towards the two children.
“Mother, Mother, hug! I want a hug.” The younger toddler Ling rushed to the front and spread out her arms to Su Ying expectantly.
Su Ying couldn’t resist at all. She immediately dismounted and pulled the little one into her arms.
The older toddler Ji who was right behind her, pursed his lips tightly when he saw his sister being hugged. His big eyes were staring fixedly at Su Ying.
Su Ying gave the younger toddler Ling a big kiss on her face. When she turned around and saw the pitiful older toddler Ji who was on the verge of tears, she quickly picked him up and gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek.
“Did you miss Mother?”
The younger toddler Ling leaned into Su Ying’s arms and said coyly, “I missed Mother so much. Even in my dreams, I am thinking of Mother.”
After being kissed, the older toddler Ji lowered his head shyly and said in a childish voice, “I miss Mother too.”
Su Ying felt extremely pleased when she heard them say that. “Mother missed you two too.”
While holding them, she tested the two children’s weight in her arms. “Not bad. You have not lost weight.”
“Mistress, you have finally returned. Your humble servants have been worried sick.” Bai Shuang and the rest also surrounded Su Ying happily.
Earlier on, the group had set off when Su Ying did not return. They had thought that she would catch up later, but they were surprised when they didn’t see her for several days. They were anxious to inform the officials, but Xiao Jin stopped them and said that Su Ying would definitely return.
However, even so, they couldn’t help but worry.
Now that Su Ying was back, their hearts were finally at ease.
Xiao Jin’s gaze quickly swept over Su Ying’s body. He only withdrew his gaze after confirming that there was nothing odd about her. However, in the blink of an eye, he noticed the jade bangle on her wrist.
Xiao Jin furrowed his brows imperceptibly, but his expression didn’t change at all.
Su Ying and the children ate and drank their fill before returning to Xiao Jin’s side.
“You cured Princess Consort Ma’s illness?” Xiao Jin asked.
“I guess she can be considered cured. I even treated the heart ailment of Prince Ma’s Crown Prince.”
Xiao Jin’s gaze once again fell on the bangle on Su Ying’s hand. “Is this bangle a thank-you gift from Princess Consort Ma?”
“This thing?” Su Ying shook the bangle on her wrist. “It was given to me by Prince Ma’s Crown Prince.”
Xiao Jin’s brows twitched momentarily. He suddenly found Su Ying’s smiling face an eyesore. “Looks like you like it a lot.”
Su Ying removed the bangle and looked at it under the sun. “Of course. The quality is extraordinary.” She could definitely get a lot of money for it.
Xiao Jin’s lips pursed tightly, and with one sweep of his hand, he snatched the bangle away.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
Xiao Jin slipped the bangle into his clothes expressionlessly. “It’s such an expensive item. It’s safer for me to keep it for you.”
Su Ying reached inside his clothes to search for the bangle. “No need. It’s very safe with me.”
Xiao Jin’s eyes turned ominous, but he didn’t stop Su Ying from feeling all over his body. “You shouldn’t show off your wealth. It’s too offensively conspicuous.”
“Offensive to whom?”
It was offensive to Xiao Jin!
Su Ying searched all over Xiao Jin’s body, but she couldn’t locate where he had hidden the jade bangle.
Su Ying glared at him angrily. “Where did you hide it?”
Xiao Jin’s deep, dark eyes looked askance at her. “In my clothes. Search for it yourself.”
Su Ying felt all over his abdomen and moved from his abdominal muscles to his pectoral muscles. She even checked his V-line abs, but there was no sign of the bangle!
Forget it. He couldn’t walk now anyway, and he couldn’t possibly swallow the bangle either.
Su Ying didn’t notice the change in Xiao Jin’s expression as she felt all over his body in her search.
She was about to withdraw her hand, but Xiao Jin grabbed her wrist, causing her body to remain in a forward-leaning position, her forehead almost touching his chest.
Xiao Jin’s low, hoarse voice rang out from above her head. “Have you found it?”
“No. Why are you grabbing me?”
The voice above her head grew lower. “You’re not searching anymore?”
Su Ying gritted her teeth. “I’m done.” She couldn’t possibly remove his clothes.
Xiao Jin only released her arm after hearing this.
Su Ying sat up straight and turned around to see the two little ones covering their mouths as they giggled. They were even whispering to each other in what they thought were soft voices.
“Big Brother, Mother really misses Father. She wants to hug him the moment she sees Father.”
The older toddler Ji pretended to be a profound thinker and nodded wisely. “That seems to be the case.”
Su Ying thought, “I don’t miss him!’
“Big Brother, Father has been staring at Mother too. Does he also want to kiss Mother?”
“That seems to be the case too.”
Xiao Jin thought, “No, I don’t!”
Su Ying glared at Xiao Jin discreetly. What kind of nonsense did he teach the children while she wasn’t around?
Xiao Jin looked away expressionlessly, but he clenched his fists discreetly. Last night, Jiang Yang said that he was going to tell the children stories. It must be him!
Achoo!
Jiang Yang, who going to take a nap, rubbed his nose and looked up at the blazing hot sun above his head. What the hell happened? Why was he sneezing on such a hot day? Who was talking behind his back?
In the carriage, Su Ying looked at Xiao Jin. “I’ll leave the bangle with you for now. Keep it properly.”
Xiao Jin frowned. “I’ll definitely keep it with me.”
Su Ying was a woman with a husband and children, yet she still accepted another man’s gift so carelessly. It seemed that he had to talk to her about certain things eventually.
Su Ying didn’t say anything else after hearing Xiao Jin’s answer.
Su Ying’s return not only made the children happy, but even Li Da felt relieved.
What the hell was going on? He, Li Da, had looked upon an exiled criminal as the pillar of strength for the entire group.
After Su Ying coaxed the two children into the carriage to take a nap, she took out the map and unfolded it in front of Xiao Jin.
“We will reach Yan City before the end of the month. After that, we will head northwest to Yan City’s Western Pass. Once we exit from there, does that mean we are outside the Chu State’s border?”
Xiao Jin looked at the map and nodded. “After the officials send us out of the border, we will then cross this mountain, after which we will reach the northern wilderness.”
The map covered a wide area. There was a large, wide circle drawn on the map, and the words “Northern Wilderness” were marked on the edge. “How much do you know about this place?”
Xiao Jin slowly shook his head. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been there. I only know that this place is a gathering place for exiled criminals from the surrounding countries.”
Su Ying pored over the map. The area bounded by the northern wilderness and the surrounding countries formed a triangle, and the northern wilderness was at the peak of the triangle.
She slowly folded up the map. Without a complete understanding of the situation there, it was difficult to make a comprehensive long-term plan, so she could only take things one step at a time.
“I’ll help you treat your legs when we have settled down in the northern wilderness.”
Xiao Jin’s legs were a little troublesome to treat. The conditions on the road were restrictive, so Su Ying could only wait until they had settled down in one place. In addition, his injuries were too serious, and he needed a long time to recover in the early stages. Otherwise, it would be difficult to proceed with further treatment.
A ray of hope flashed across Xiao Jin’s eyes. He did not doubt Su Ying’s words at all. “Sure.”